Game of the Day - The Deep (aka Run Deep)

The Deep (which is also called Run Deep in the US) is the slowest arcade game I ever enjoyed.  I'm a twitchy, hyper-active, ritalin-needing uber-bundle of energy, so I love games that are fast and furious.  Run Deep is not.  It's still an action game (as opposed to a strategy or tactics or puzzle game) - it just has its own pace that fits with the theme perfectly.

You are a boat floating on the surface and most of the screen represents what is under the ocean trying to attack/kill you.  You have two buttons.  One that drops depth charges of the left half of your boat and one that drops depth charges of the right side.  They travel slowly thru the water (like they might for real) and blow up when they collide with something.  The different enemies are at varying depths and it can take a while for your depth charge to get to them, so you have to aim ahead/lead them.  They shoot and float lots of stuff at you: missiles, mines, other crap.  You have to avoid getting hit despite the fact you can only move left and right and can't do it very fast.  You can also drop a depth charge to blow up anything on the way to hit you.  The number of depth charges you have starts as a fixed amount and declines as you deploy them.  They slowly replenish over time OR you can find a power-up that will restore your full complement.  But, the point is, you can't fire them willy-nilly without watching your supply, as the number is finite.

It all happens in a molasses, slo-mo kind of way, but the action still gets interesting as the screen gets more full and more crap comes up after you.  As is usual, there are power-ups that increase things like speed, power of your charges, etc.

The graphics are very nice and the backgrounds and under water look are especially pleasing.

If you want to play an action based game and yet still mellow out, play The Deep.